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Funny how this story gets posted after soon after Dr Sabine Hossenfelder's debunking and deflate the fusion power hype - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ4W1g-

Funny how this story gets posted after soon after Dr Sabine Hossenfelder's debunking and deflate the fusion power hype - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ4W1g-6JiY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ4W1g-6JiY with a genuine Hans Gruber accent :)

seoaeu 5y ago
Do you have any context on who Dr. Hossenfelder is or why their "debunking" is meaningful?
- mrtranscendence 5y ago
  She's a German physicist who has made a name for herself, I think, arguing that mathematical beauty should not be a factor when constructing solutions to problems in theoretical physics. I think construing her video as a "debunking" does it a disservice, for what it's worth. It's a call for journalists and laypeople to be cautious when interpreting lab results. She doesn't "dunk on" fusion power or say that it's not worth investigating.
  - willis936 5y ago
    For a physicist she claims to know strikingly little about fusion energy research while still offering up opinions. Why did the good doctor fail to mention triple product? Why did the good doctor conflate ICF machines and MCF machines? Why did the good doctor imply that research progress is tied to Q (which is a metric that only progresses in times of large funding/when nuclear machines are being built)? It seems the good doctor has smoke to blow, rather than truth to spread.
    - mrtranscendence 5y ago
      For one, her channel is firmly oriented towards a lay audience; she explains topics in physics in relatively simple terminology. That limits the level of discourse. Second, she's not a fusion researcher, she's a theoretical physicist. It's possible that she made an error (though I can't speak to whether that's actually the case, as I know next to nothing about physics generally). Third, I don't think she really implied that research progress is entirely tied to Q. But YMMV.
Krasnol 5y ago
It's even funnier how fast you got downvoted. The nuclear band wagon is strong here.
- vfclists 5y ago
  I noticed
- willis936 5y ago
  Perhaps people are sick of non-experts chiming in where they aren't wanted or needed for the explicit purpose of misinforming the public.
  - Krasnol 5y ago
    And therefore opt-in to a Astro-Turf ran by people like Shellenberger and financed by a highly corrupt industry which sees their end coming? I mean...seriously...you could have at least watch the video above. It shows that even the involved scientists are lying to you but you didn't and instead you've went for this exchangeable phrase which could come out of a MAGA speech. This is the nuclear band wagon in a nutshell.
    - willis936 5y ago
      Ah yes the experts are lying to the public, so sayeth... who again? Don't have the wool pulled over your eyes by someone who's just telling you what you want to hear. Before claiming that I'm somehow clueless here, perhaps try a little engagement. Here is some material for you. I can get you an intro to fusion reading list afterwards if you're interested. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28781178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28781178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730707 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730707 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730431 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730431 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28736859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28736859
jjk166 5y ago
It's almost like this is the event that prompted her to make her video.

seoaeu 5y ago

Do you have any context on who Dr. Hossenfelder is or why their "debunking" is meaningful?

mrtranscendence 5y ago
She's a German physicist who has made a name for herself, I think, arguing that mathematical beauty should not be a factor when constructing solutions to problems in theoretical physics. I think construing her video as a "debunking" does it a disservice, for what it's worth. It's a call for journalists and laypeople to be cautious when interpreting lab results. She doesn't "dunk on" fusion power or say that it's not worth investigating.
- willis936 5y ago
  For a physicist she claims to know strikingly little about fusion energy research while still offering up opinions. Why did the good doctor fail to mention triple product? Why did the good doctor conflate ICF machines and MCF machines? Why did the good doctor imply that research progress is tied to Q (which is a metric that only progresses in times of large funding/when nuclear machines are being built)? It seems the good doctor has smoke to blow, rather than truth to spread.
  - mrtranscendence 5y ago
    For one, her channel is firmly oriented towards a lay audience; she explains topics in physics in relatively simple terminology. That limits the level of discourse. Second, she's not a fusion researcher, she's a theoretical physicist. It's possible that she made an error (though I can't speak to whether that's actually the case, as I know next to nothing about physics generally). Third, I don't think she really implied that research progress is entirely tied to Q. But YMMV.

Krasnol 5y ago

It's even funnier how fast you got downvoted. The nuclear band wagon is strong here.

vfclists 5y ago
I noticed
willis936 5y ago
Perhaps people are sick of non-experts chiming in where they aren't wanted or needed for the explicit purpose of misinforming the public.
- Krasnol 5y ago
  And therefore opt-in to a Astro-Turf ran by people like Shellenberger and financed by a highly corrupt industry which sees their end coming? I mean...seriously...you could have at least watch the video above. It shows that even the involved scientists are lying to you but you didn't and instead you've went for this exchangeable phrase which could come out of a MAGA speech. This is the nuclear band wagon in a nutshell.
  - willis936 5y ago
    Ah yes the experts are lying to the public, so sayeth... who again? Don't have the wool pulled over your eyes by someone who's just telling you what you want to hear. Before claiming that I'm somehow clueless here, perhaps try a little engagement. Here is some material for you. I can get you an intro to fusion reading list afterwards if you're interested. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28781178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28781178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730707 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730707 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730431 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28730431 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28736859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28736859

jjk166 5y ago

It's almost like this is the event that prompted her to make her video.